monsterpile wrote:SameOldDrew wrote:Good question. Tough to say. We're 3-0 since the trade, including wins against 2 good teams, so clearly dumping Butler cleared the air somewhat, and the two new guys are helping.
That leaves me opDOUGistic, but the NBA has been volatile this year. Teams expected to be bad are playing well while some guys like Mitchell seem to be taking a step back. And there's always the injury concern. We've clearly got more talent than Dallas and Sacramento, other than that, there are a lot of teams that should be at or about our level, pretty good, but not great. San Antonio, Memphis, LAC. The Lakers and Pelicans have the potential to be great but I'd guess more like being on our level as well. So it should be another close race for those last playoff spots and I really hope we can get in on that.
The key related question to me is HOW will we win the most games? Given what Thibs the GM has assembled, it seems clear that Thibs the coach needs to adjust how he coaches in ways that we've been calling for.
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[*] First, our strength is our depth, so use it. Run deeper rotations to keep guys rested and involved.
[*] Second, take advantage of using our depth by pushing guys to get out in transition more. If we play the starters fewer minutes, they should be able to expend more energy when they are on the court, and playing more bench guys means more fresh legs. Tyus, Rose, Okogie, Covington, Saric all seem to do pretty well in transition, so let's go for it more.
[*] Third, develop the capacity to switch on D. We don't have to do it all the time, but it's a defensive tool, and we have the players to pull it off, so why not learn to use it at times to get an advantage?
[*] Fourth, keep stressing passing and off-the-ball movement. Last year we were such an iso-heavy team, and it worked in part because Butler and Towns were so good at it. We don't have Butler anymore, so we need to maximize the effectiveness of our offense by passing, especially with the three point shooting we seem to have now. We've been a bit better about moving the ball this year. But we really need to stress that going forward, IMO.
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I'll give Thibs credit for embracing the three point shot more this year, which is the one thing we are ALREADY doing that I would have put on this list, so I'm more hopeful than I have been in the past that he has the capacity to change. But given his history, that hope is still somewhat faint.
Good post and list. Here is some reason for more optimism of things that are already happening in addition to the 3 point shooting you mentioned.
The Wolves are 9th in pace and 6th in fast break points. They have been playing much faster all year.
Dane Moore has been talking about how the Wolves have been doing some different defensive concepts since training camp and absolutely utilizing a switching concept which they did not use much last year. He said based on what he has seen since the trade it looks like even more switching is going to happen. Teague has been very outspoken about wanting to utilize a switching concept more.
The Wolves would have a better chance of finishing 2nd if Drew were coaching instead of Thibs. That said, I agree that it seems Thibs is embracing some of the concepts this team needs to embrace, even showing some signs of trusting his bench more (should be pretty easy to do when you have guys like Rose and Saric not starting).
I actually turn Lip's question around and ask which teams other than the Warriors are clearly better than the post-Butler Wolves. The Thunder might be the worst 3-point shooting team in a 3-point shooting league. The Clippers are playing way over their heads (credit to Doc) and lack a legitimate center. The Nuggets look solid, but there's something wrong with Jamal Murray and would anybody really trade rosters with them? The Grizzlies are playing well, but lack a legitimate superstar...I think we will see today the difference in the two rosters. If I were to pick a team that I thought had the best chance to finish ahead of us, it would be Portland with their physical center and marvelous guards...but we saw what the new look Wolves did to them Friday night.
This team needs to stay healthy and not get too Thibodeaud...let's keep it going today!
